Do you remember those halcyon days in the car world where something as simple as the VW Beetle or Citroën 2CV had a following like no other car on the road? A car so cheap, its owners enjoyed carefree motoring that was the envy of anyone who sat behind the wheel of a Ford Sierra.
Those days really are behind us now. Have you seen the price a good 2CV goes for? And don’t get me started on the Beetle. What I paid for mine last year would have bought me a body-off resto 15 years ago.
But there is a new rise of the cult car coming over the hill. Albeit quite slowly if it’s powered by the DW N/A diesel engine, but it’s coming. I’m talking the rise of the Berlingo (and Partner) from Citroën and Peugeot. You see today, 23/10/22 something happened here in the UK. The first Berlingo and Partner gathering. Held at Gilks Garage Cafe in Warwick.
It was the brainchild of James Walshe from Practical classics. A convert to the Berlingo ways, he has quickly established himself as a sort of grandfather to the movement. A movement populated by forward thinkers in revolutionary transport solutions. Or vans with windows to anyone who doesn’t own or quite understand them. And that includes my mate Dave. He called me a “Berlingo Wanker” after I sent him pictures of the fun he was missing out on.
Twitter has turned into a bit of a haven for Berlingo/Partner owners. A sort of secret club no one talks about. It wasn’t until i bought my own back in 2018 and posted on Twitter that others commented. Suddenly the ground shuddered and like the zombie occult in Michael Jackson’s Thriller video, they rose in numbers. People came forward to announce they own one, had owned one, miss the one they sold.
And to that James posted up to a group of known owners of the idea. And here is where it went from mild to WILD. More often than not, in car club circles, you get the lazy lot who want this but don’t want to travel. Often a great distance of a few miles can put many off. Not this lot. Warwick is not central to me. On a good run it takes over 2 hours. For some it was longer. None of the chosen ones asked moaned. THEY WANTED IT AND THEY WANTED IT BADLY! I felt a bit like a crack whore in the hands of James. I too wanted this.
And so a date was set, a venue picked and then the world was told. Unfortunately the weather man wasn’t told and the roads turned nasty. Always a bad sign for a gathering of machines. Precious metal often gets protected. However, it would seem this bunch didn’t get that memo. I met James at the Gilks. A few are already there. A few stragglers are on-route from the campsite. James pondered over his breakfast that perhaps 5 including myself might turn up. Suddenly more and more people came. Like in the Field of Dreams, “if you have it, they will come” and they did. 23 in total.
23 vans with windows (some with sunroofs) for moving people battled the grim wet elements of a vile M40 to get here. Which was better than the 4 BMW’s I saw that hadn’t but I digress. And with each Berlingo and Partner came an owner and a story. And a van in in as many conditions as you could think of. From lowered to family transport. To the everyday run-around to the micro camper. One couple I met had made a neat bespoke camping unit for theirs.
As the knowledge in the owners stories grew over the morning, it was George Kavanagh’s that took it to a new level. To cut it short, he posted on the Citroën Car Club Facebook that he was looking for his grandparents Berlingo. It carried many magic memories for him as a youngster. He is but 17. He is about 3 decades too young for the typical Berlingo demographic. We owners tend to be a little older, much older. Mine could well be my final car!
The van was about but where? Suddenly it was located. Facebook posts appeared from George and the club was on the edge of its seat. Top soap opera drama right here. There was good news that followed too. The van was bought from an owner reluctant to sell it but sell it he did. This story is quite the exception but not out of the ordinary.
The couple I bought mine from were reluctant to sell it. The wife had quite the soft spot for it and this is it. No one here today was able to put their finger on why this vehicle is so admired and loved by those who own them or by those who had previously had one.
So those old 2CV days might not actually be quite dead yet. It would appear that they have all grown up and moved up to what was once called the successor of the 2CV. And following from todays meet, it’s a worthy accolade. Here Cometh The Van!
